Harrison's Reports (1945)

December 8, 1945 HARRISON'S REPORTS 195 "Miss Susie Slagle's" with Veronica Lake, Sonny Tufts and Lillian Gish (Paramount, Feb. 8; time, 88 min.) Good wholesome entertainment; it has deep human appeal, dramatic situations, and a fair amount of comedy. The story, which revolves around a group of medical students residing in a boarding house operated by a gentle old lady, is episodic, but its warmth and simplicity will appeal to most picture-goers, for it will leave them with a pleasant feeling. Lillian Gish, as the landlady, is charming; the affection she shows for the students, and her efforts to help them over' come their problems, pleases one. There is not an unpleasant character; as a matter of fact, all are appealing. Two charming romances, one that ends tragically, are worked into the plot. The action takes place in 1910, and the settings of the period have been reproduced with care: — Miss Gish, who maintained her boarding house for medical students only, most of whom were sons of eminent doctors who had lived with her during their student days, welcomes among her new guests Sonny Tufts, Lloyd Bridges, and Pat Phelan. Aided by Billy De Wolf, an upper classman, the boys work hard at their studies. Tufts was determined to become a surgeon, despite his psychological fear of seeing people die, the result of a tragedy he had witnessed as a boy. Romance enters into Tufts' life when he meets and falls in love with Joan Caulfield, daughter of Ray Collins, a staff doctor. Phelan, too, finds romance with Veronica Lake, a student nurse. When an epidemic of diptheria sweeps the city, the students are drafted to handle other cases while the doctors combat the disease. Phelan becomes a victim of the disease, and his friends and Veronica take turns watching at his bedside. He dies during Tufts' watch. Feeling himself responsible, and convinced that he could never overcome the fear of death, Tufts refuses to handle cases assigned to him, and he decides to resign from the school. Miss Gish takes him in hand, and in a kindly, persuasive way induces him to attend a maternity case. He finds the prospective mother in a critical condition and loses his nerve, but Veronica, who was assisting him, gives him courage. He performs a delicate, emergency operation, saving both mother and baby. His obsession overcome, Tufts graduates from school with high honors, and looks forward to making Joan his wife. Anne Froelick and Hugo Butler wrote the screen play from a novel by Augusta Tucker, John Houseman produced it, and John Berry directed it. The cast includes Bill Edwards, Roman Bohnen, Morris Carnovsky and others. "Tokyo Rose" with Byron Barr, Osa Massen and Don Douglas (Paramount, March 8; time, 70 min.) Because of its exploitable title, this program war melodrama offers opportunities for above-average business, but as entertainment it is quite ordinary. The story starts off in an interesting way by showing how some soldiers on the Pacific battlefronts were affected by the subtle propaganda broadcast by Japan's "Tokyo Rose," but it soon bogs down into a wholly unbelieveable tale about an escaped American prisoner who, aided by the underground (Chinese and Koreans), succeeds in kidnapping "Rose" from a Tokyo radio station. The action is at times fast and exciting, but it is so far-fetched that only the most undiscriminating action fans will find it interesting. Lotus Long, who portrays "Tokyo Rose," takes little part in the action; she does not make an appearance until the final reel:— Byron Barr and a group of fellow American prisoners are selected by the Japs to be interviewed on "Tokyo Rose's" program; by giving the prisoners good food and every courtesy, the Japs hoped to lull them into reporting favorably on their treatment. Barr, aware of the scheme, leads a revolt in the broadcasting station during an air raid and, after taking identification papers from a Swedish newspaperman killed in the bombing, manages to make his escape. He is given refuge by Don Douglas, correspondent of an Irish newspaper, and by Osa Massen, Douglas' sweet heart. Douglas puts Barr in touch with the underground, which arranges for him to be put aboard an American submarine scheduled to surface on the following night at a designated spot off the coast. Barr, whose hatred for "Tokyo Rose" was intense, determines to capture her before leaving Japan. He explains his daring plan to Keye Luke, an underground member, who agrees to join him. Wearing the dead correspondent's clothes, Barr, on the pretext of interviewing "Rose," gets into the radio studio and compels her to follow him out of the building. They are met by Osa, who, having found reason to suspect Douglas of informing the Japs of Barr's plan, had come to warn them. All jump into a waiting car only to find themselves pursued by a car-load of Jap soldiers. Barr wrecks the pursuing car with a hand grenade, and heads for the meeting place on the coast. There he and Osa are met by Douglas, who explains that he had been double-crossing the Japs so that Barr could get away with "Rose." Turning their prisoner over to the underground, Barr, Osa, and Douglas row to the safety of the waiting submarine. Geoffrey Homes and Maxwell Shane wrote the screen play, and Lew Landers directed it. It is a Pine-Thomas production. The cast includes Richard Loo and others. Unobjectionable morally. "Road to Utopia" with Bing Crosby, Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour (Paramount, March 22; time, 90 min.) Good mass entertainment. Like the previous "Road" pictures, in which Crosby, Hope, and Miss Lamour have been starred, this one is fast-moving and filled with many nonsensical but hilarious situations. In spite of the fact that it hasn't much of a story to tell, one's interest in the proceedings never lags, for the laughs come frequently, continuing to the end. Crosby and Hope, as two confidence men loose in Alaska during the Gold Rush days, are extremely funny; individually, or as a team, they get the most out of every gag and comedy situation. The picture pokes fun at itself throughout, beginning with a commentary by the late Robert Benchley, who tells the audience that it is an example of how a picture should not be made, and continuing with numerous other "kidding" gags, some of which include direct remarks to the audience by the players, as well as by animals that talk. The action is interspersed with several tuneful songs, sung by Crosby and by Miss Lamour: — Learning that her father, discoverer of a gold mine, had been murdered by two Alaskan desperadoes, who had stolen the map of the mine, Dorothy Lamour determines to follow the pair to the Klondike to recover the map and to file claim to the mine. Meanwhile Crosby and Hope come to a parting of the ways when Hope insists that they go to Alaska in search of gold. Hope, however, tricks Crosby into accompanying him and, during the voyage, both become mixed up with the two thugs, steal the map, and assume their appearances to get off the ship. The townspeople, believing them to be the ruthless desperadoes, keep out of their way. Dorothy, under the same impression, starts romancing with both of them in an effort to recover the map. She also enlists the aid of Douglas Dumbrille, a crooked political boss, who pretends friendship for her as part of a plan to steal the map for himself. Hope and Crosby soon become the prey of, not only Dorothy, but also Dumbrille's henchmen, as well as the two desperadoes, who sought revenge. They head into the far north in search of the mine, closely pursued by the others, who overtake them in a snow storm. After numerous complications and adventures, during which both men play hide-and-seek with the villains, but find enough time to vie for Dorothy's hand, they elude their pursuers and turn the map over to Dorothy. Hope wins her for his wife, but twenty-five years later their grown son looks uncommonly like Crosby. Norman Panama and Melvin Frank wrote the screen play, Paul Jones produced it, and H.J Walker directed it. The cast includes Hillary Brooke, Jack LaRue and others. Unobjectionable morally.